In Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., 2026 has been a busy legislative year 

By David Hardin, Chair, ISA Membership and Policy Committee 

This year has proved to be busy, so far, when it comes to advocating for Indiana’s soybean farmers. 

At the Statehouse, we were successful in seeing the passage of Senate Bill 55 that provided a fallback state soybean checkoff in the event that the federal checkoff ceases to function. We are only waiting for Gov. Braun to sign it into law. 

With House Bill 1003, we saw the creation of the Agricultural Regulatory Task Force. This task force will look at what changes need to be made to the structure of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). When the department was created, several agencies that align with agriculture were left out, such as the Indiana State Chemist and the Board of Animal Health. 

This was because many wanted to see the ISDA act as a cheerleader and promoter of agriculture, not a regulator. This may be the time to re-evaluate that decision and consider what will make ISDA the best advocate for the state’s agricultural industry. 

The Indiana Soybean Alliance will have a seat on that task force to represent you. 

We have seen movement in Washington, D.C., as well, but we are a long way from the finish line. 

The House Agricultural Committee has voted its version of the 2026 Farm Bill out of committee. From a soybean farmer’s perspective, there are several things to like about the House version – including increased reimbursement rates for precision agriculture in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). There is new funding in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for soil health initiatives. 

The Energy Title helps lay out the groundwork for a strategy to grow demand and production capacity for sustainable aviation fuel. As this market takes off, it could be a huge win for soybean producers. 

One summer in college, I had the pleasure of working for the Senate Agriculture Committee. That summer we spent a lot of time working on what would become the 1996 Farm Bill. I learned a lot that year. I learned the value of being engaged and advocating for your industry as I saw growers and lobbyists from every commodity walking the halls of Congress to push their messages. 

I also learned about the “Grand Bargain,” the need to pair the titles important to most of us in production ag with the Nutrition title. For decades it was seen as critical to have this because it was argued that Ag alone wouldn’t have the votes in rural districts to get our bills across the finish line. 

That bargain was broken last year, so we will have to see if this “skinny” farm bill will get across the finish line. It will be a challenge to get it done before the mid-term elections. 

The Senate has yet to introduce their version of the farm bill. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, hasn’t laid out how his priorities will be different from the House’s version. 

So, we will need to pay close attention to how the next steps in the process unfold and be ready to engage to make sure our voices are heard.